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 Bobsleigh Canada
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Date of Birth: 25/12/68 |
Place of Birth: Montreal, QC |
Residence: Calgary, AB |
Height: 5'7" |
Weight: 160 lbs |
Years on National Team: 11 |
Christina Smith is Canada's most successful female bobsleigh pilot. After a season as a brakeman in 1992, she moved to the front of the sled.
Last season she placed fifth overall in the World Cup standings and is considered a strong medal contender for the 2002 Olympics.
Smith feels the Canadians are benefiting from the $4.5 million Ice House training facility at Canada Olympic Park (COP). It is an indoor start track
for all three sliding sports: bobsleigh, skeleton and luge. "I've never been able to break a six-second push at COP and this year within the first
couple of weeks of training I broke 5.85. I don't know my potential anymore."
Smith won her first World Cup medal in the 1999-2000 season placing third at an event in Igls, Austria. That was the same year that the IOC
announced that women's bobsleigh would be added to the Olympic program in 2002. Last season she won another World Cup bronze on the
same track.
Off the track she is an equine therapist, a job that required a two-year apprenticeship in Europe. She is also a joint founder of the motivational
speaking organization Partners on Ice.
Smith feels that since the 1999 announcement to include women's bobsleigh at the Olympics, the women no longer need to struggle to prove
themselves or justify their abilities. "We are no longer a joke," she said.
What Canada Did
Feb. 19 - Two-women: Christine Smith and Paula McKenzie, both Calgary, were ninth in a final field of 15.
Christine Smith Photos
Smith and McKenzie in CAN-1
More Christina Smith Stories
Smith pilots Canada's entry
Smith a medal threat in first women's event
2002 Games Bobsleigh Coverage
